Résumé
The research study aims to address the city logistics challenges faced by developing countries, notably in Southeast Asia. Chapter 1 provides a detailed understanding of the critical characteristics of developing countries, such as revenue, business, social, and land development challenges, and how these challenges lead to city logistics problems. These challenges include traffic congestion, unsafe roads, poor-quality infrastructures, expensive and unreliable vehicles, high population growth rate, and urbanization. Hence, they have difficulty managing their city logistics activities sustainably and supporting their economy. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the Physical Internet (PI) research works and how it can be considered in the context of developing countries. The research questions are formulated based on this extensive material, which are how the principles of PI can be implemented in the context of city logistics in developing countries, how the application of PI concepts can be assessed in terms of its impact on performance, and what are the benefits that can be expected from the implementation of PI on the case of city logistics in developing countries. To solve these questions, the research proposes a design science research methodology consisting of four main phases and nine steps. Chapter 3 developed a conceptual contribution by assessing the accessibility and stake levels of each PI concept and concluded that the priority ones for solving the problem statement should be information sharing and standardized systems, collaborative multifaceted activities, and open system stakeholder interconnections. A set of scenarios were designed to put PI into practice for better delivering goods in the context of city logistics in developing countries. These scenarios were organized through the implementation of PI-hubs, on-demand and as-a-service transportation systems, and sharing of assets. Chapter 4 developed the technical and experimental contributions of the research work by setting a dedicated hybrid simulation model based on agent-based modeling and discrete event simulation. It includes the definition of specific performance indicators able to measure the potential impacts of the scenarios design in Chapter 3 regarding the baseline scenario. The experimental contribution is developed based on a real industrial case related to e-commerce logistics activities in Phnom Penh city (Cambodia). The numerical results show the clear benefit of using PI-hubs and especially on-demand and as-a-service transportation systems, which allows very substantial savings up to 55% for lead times, 61% for carbon footprints, and 75% for logistics costs. However, the study has some limitations, which are also discussed. Overall, the study concludes that the use of certain PI concepts could drastically improve the performance of urban logistics activities in developing countries without any particularly large investment. The research proposes several future research perspectives, including the use of PI in different contexts and the development of a decision-making tools for PI implementation in urban logistics.
Source: http://www.theses.fr/s236040
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